


Costume Nights

by cleanlittlesecret



Category: Princess Principal (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, American Football, F/F, Halloween, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 05:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13517595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleanlittlesecret/pseuds/cleanlittlesecret
Summary: Originally written for the prompt, "Hi, are you still accepting PriPri prompts? Can I ask for AngexCharlotte high school AU?"





	Costume Nights

The bench’s cold, metal edges pressed into the thighs of Ange’s jeans as she sat straddling it. With her hands holding each other inside the wide pocket of her hoodie and her eyes narrowed against the wind, she tried to appear unconcerned as she used her position to scan the bleachers around her, but she couldn’t stop a frown from pulling at her lips. Cheerleaders were already gathering on the football field, and the scoreboard’s lights glowed against the evening sky behind it.

_She should be here by now._

Behind Ange, Dorothy sat with her feet on the bench before them and a blanket over her legs as she focused on her phone’s screen. A felt-covered headband crowned her with a pair of purple-and-black-striped, triangular ears, and her eyeliner was drawn in a way she’d described to Ange as  _cat eye_ , and when Ange glanced back, she spotted the name  _Prefect_  at the top of the screen. No surprise there.

“What are you looking for, Ange?” Dorothy raised her head, but Ange turned to face forward.

“Nothing.”

A snort. “Yeah, like I believe that. Were you supposed to meet someone here?”

“Mind your own business.”

“But you’re my little sister now—”

“ _Foster_  sister.”

“—so you  _are_  my business,” Dorothy finished without so much as a stutter. From the corner of her eye, Ange caught a glimpse of her leaning forward to look at Ange’s face. “So you’ve gotta tell me—who is it? Someone I would know?” A smirk spread across her lips. “Is it a boy?”

A series of metallic thuds heading towards them saved Ange from having to answer as they both looked back to find Chise striding down the length of the bleacher itself to sit beside Dorothy. Neither of them batted an eye at her arrival—Chise had done things in a slightly off way ever since coming over from Japan, and while her mannerisms flustered Beatrice, the daughter of Chise’s host family, Dorothy and Ange had both seen much odder behavior before.

“Good evening.” Chise raised a hand to them in greeting, but when her gaze landed on Dorothy, her eyebrows lowered. “What are you wearing on your head?”

“Cat ears.” Dorothy pulled the headband off to let Chise see it. “It’s part of my costume for Halloween.”

“Halloween?” Chise frowned. “I thought that wasn’t until next week?”

“It is, but I figured I could dress up a little bit a few days early.” Dorothy returned the ears to her head and made an exaggerated wink. “Maybe if I’m lucky, someone will give me candy anyways. I’m a big fan of chocolate.”

“I see.” Chise leaned to the side. “Ange, will you dress up for Halloween too?”

Ange lifted her leg over the bench to sit facing the field. “No. Dorothy likes that kind of thing way more than I do, even though she’s already an adult.”

Dorothy dumped a loud sigh in Ange’s direction before turning back to Chise. “Do they have Halloween in Japan?”

Chise nodded, but then brought a hand to her chin in thought. “Well, yes, we have the costume part of the holiday, but no one goes begging for candy from their neighbors like you people do.”

“So you’ve never been trick-or-treating before?” Dorothy said. Ange caught how smoothly she had ignored the  _begging_  comment, but she held her silence.

“I haven’t.”

“Then I have to take you! No-fun Ange over here doesn’t want to go trick-or-treating with me, so you can go instead.” She glanced at her phone. “I wonder if that old thing will fit you—”

“Chise,” Ange said. “Did Beatrice come here with you?”

“Oh, yes.” Chise tilted her head toward the bleachers’ far end. “She’s already with the rest of the band. She was talking to Charlotte from your grade when I left them to come here.”

Ange had just been looking for a reason to escape the conversation, but she perked at the sound of Charlotte’s name and shot to her feet. “I’m going to see her.”

“Okay,” Dorothy called in a singsong voice. “Just don’t wander off and get lost. Dad said I’m responsible for you.”

“I know.” Ange hurried down the bleachers with the cold metal brushing against her legs on both sides until she reached the block of seats dedicated to the school’s band. Beatrice sat on the end of the trumpet players’ bench with her instrument already in her hands as she talked to the girl standing beside her. When Beatrice spotted Ange and waved, the girl turned towards her.

_There she is._

“Hello, Ange!” The smile normally hovering on Charlotte’s mouth broke into a wide grin.

Ange stopped beside her with careful distance between them and kept her face neutral. “Hey. What are you two talking about?”

“Our plans for Halloween.” Charlotte raised her hands in a shrug. “Or lack thereof, really. My grandmother doesn’t like this holiday much, so my options are pretty limited.”

“What about you? Are you doing anything fun for Halloween?” Beatrice said.

Ange shook her head. “Dorothy is going trick-or-treating, though, and she was talking about dragging Chise with her.”

Beatrice’s eyes brightened. “Really? Do you think I could go with them?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her—”

A call to attention made Beatrice’s head whip towards the front. It was almost time for the game to begin, so after sharing a look with Ange, Charlotte gave Beatrice a small wave. “We’ll be going now, Beatrice. Good luck.”

“Ah, thanks!” Beatrice chirped, her attention already focused on checking her trumpet.

Instead of heading back towards Dorothy and Chise, Ange and Charlotte climbed the bleachers’ steps together. At their school, the home side’s seats had been built into the slope of a hill, so once they reached the top, they continued up, over, and down the other side. The slope gave them a tiny bit of privacy from the game’s spectators, but they were still close enough to hear the cheers and music. The sky had gone black above them, and the fall chill settled on them in the darkness and a breeze, so as they walked, Charlotte drifted closer until her coat brushed against Ange’s elbow. After glancing back towards the bleachers, Ange wrapped an arm around Charlotte’s waist and pulled her close.

“Who brought you here tonight?”

“My uncle dropped me off.” With a sigh, she leaned against Ange’s shoulder. “I told him I want to support Beatrice so she can get a music scholarship one day, and to do that, I need to come to the games to watch her.” She shook her head. “He’s ridiculous. I feel like I’m suffocating when he’s around.”

Ange stayed silent. Charlotte’s uncle had taken part of the responsibility for her after her parents’ death, but he was strict and suspicious of everything she did. She and Ange couldn’t even text each other for fear he would go through Charlotte’s phone and find their messages.

“But I really do want to see the half-time show.” She gave Ange a direct look. “Even if it’s functioning as an excuse right now, I want to support Beatrice. She’s been working a lot for this.”

“Of course.” Dropping her guard, Ange gave her a smile, and after a few seconds, Charlotte returned the expression before stopping so they stood halfway down the slope. “Do you think we could go trick-or-treating together this year?”

“What?” Ange tilted her head on reflex as she tried to put a name to the jump in her chest—betrayal? She could feel her mouth forming something dangerously close to a pout. “You know I don’t like dressing up like that.”

Charlotte’s eyes only grew brighter. “But we could use it as an excuse to spend the evening together!” A slight dimming. “Granted, my uncle would probably say I’m too old for that…” A burst of light. “But if I ask Grandmother directly, she’ll probably let me go if I say I’ll just be having a little fun with my friends, and an adult will be with us.” She moved closer to Ange’s face. “So how about it?”

Ange looked past her to avoid eye contact. “Well, Danny would probably let me go with Dorothy, but…” She hesitated, mentally running through all the trouble it would be, but the weight of Charlotte’s gaze finally pushed her to say, “All right. I’ll do it.”

“Yes!” Charlotte darted in to give her a quick kiss. “Thanks, Ange! I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun!”

Ange’s cheeks burned despite the cold. “…Mm.”

Charlotte pulled free of her arm only to take Ange’s hands between her own and rub them together. “Your skin feels like ice. We should bring gloves and scarves out here next time.” She brought their hands close to her mouth to puff a few warm breaths on them. “We could do matching costumes, like two princesses or two ninja—”

“If Dorothy has her way, Chise will probably end up as that one.”

“You think so?”

“She already has an old ninja costume in the hall closet.”

“Ah. Something else then.” Her face drawn in concentration, Charlotte began outlining other plans for what they could do, and Ange smiled as she listened. She would probably have a ton of explaining to do later to keep Dorothy and her dad from getting suspicious, but it would be worth it for this. She and Charlotte were already spending their time pretending to be something they weren’t, so putting on costumes together for fun wouldn’t be that difficult.

_At least she’ll be happy._


End file.
